The average person spends just as much time at work as they do sleeping at night. It isn’t uncommon for work to be the dominating factor in one’s life, even eclipsing time that is spent with friends or family. That fact alone can be depressing, but it doesn’t have to make you a miserable employee. Sometimes a few simple changes can bring an added level of contentment at work. After all, happiness is a choice that you can make.

Here are 5 proven methods for successfully choosing more happiness every day.

#1. Give yourself a taste of the outdoors. You don’t need to have a window office to feel like you’re in touch with nature. A little extra greenery in your work space can transform your daily attitude in remarkable ways. Not only do office plants give a slight improvement to the air in an office space, but the greenery provides a calming influence on the mind that lends to longer periods of focused concentration.

#2. Stop multitasking. There are some tangible gains to feeling important at work. It fills the chest with pride to know that you’re important enough to be incredibly busy. Those gains don’t feel so important when you’re bogged down with work, can’t focus, and seem distracted all the time.

#3. Have a friend somewhere close. People who are able to work with people whom they consider their friends are more productive during the day AND are happier at work. Not only does communication improve when people think of themselves as friends, but feedback is more honest and there isn’t as much of the solo competitiveness that can quickly derail a team. Here’s another reason to find a friend: people who have chronic loneliness have a 45% increased risk of experiencing a premature death.

#4. Take a chance. Taking risks at work might seem like self-sabotage, but being in a boring rut can actually lead to higher levels of discontent. Taking risks mean planning strategies, engaging new people, and sometimes risking it all on a single idea. Nothing gets the flow of adrenaline pumping more than that. When people are engaged in all of that, more happiness tends to come around because you will feel like you’re useful and contributing to a good cause.

#5. Allow yourself to fail. It can be difficult to fail at a task, but forgiving yourself and learning from the mistakes that led to failure will lead to more overall happiness. Without forgiveness, people tend to live in a world that is filled with anxiety. It can even lead to panic attacks if it persists for long enough. Happiness comes when control of a life is grasped. That’s what forgiving yourself will allow you to do.

Being happier at work may take a few changes, but the effort to change is definitely worthwhile. By following these ideas, you can shape your working environment to be a place where happiness instead of misery can be found every day.

There are a number of habits that will make you successful. Then there are the habits that will make you really, really successful. If you want to be able to take your life to the next level, then think about adding these attributes to your life.

#1. Get the day started early. Time is an asset that is unfortunately fleeting. That’s why those who are really successful wind up getting their day started as early as 4am. This gives you more control over your morning routine so you don’t feel rushed. It also allows you to pursue personal interests when your energy levels are high.

#2. Think about a good workout. You don’t have to hit the gym to get some exercise. A little stretching is enough to get you to start thinking more clearly. Exercise isn’t always easy to make happen, so try to add 10 minutes of exercise when you first wake up to clear your mind.

#3. Spend your energy wisely. There’s only so much energy that you’re going to have on any given day. Even if you drink 10 cups of coffee, there’s a certain limit to what the human body can do. Those who are successful know how much fuel is in their tank and make sure to dedicate time for inspiration and creativity before it’s time to fuel up at the end of the day.

#4. There’s a certain level of gratitude. It’s one thing to say that you have gratitude. It’s a whole other practice to write down what you’re grateful about. Start a gratitude journal and you will force your mind to look for the small, perfect moments that are happening around you. As you look for the positive, a natural consequence occurs: you begin to ignore the negative.

#5. Is there substance to what you’re doing? If you knew that your time was limited on this planet to 24 hours, would you still do what you’re doing right now? If the answer to this question isn’t positive, then you’ve got some changes to make in your life. Everything matters to those who are really successful.

#6. Do the hard stuff first. The hardest work of the day seems a lot easier when you’ve got extra energy to do it. Save the easy stuff for the late afternoon when you’re ready to call it a day so that you can stay productive.

#7. Meditate. 9 out of 10 illnesses today are related to stress. If you are able to keep your calm and capitalize on those few moments of quiet that happen during the day, you’ll be able to keep going strong and stay well.

Those who are really, really successful practice these components of life every day. It allows them to chart their own course, reduce stress, and find happiness. Incorporate the habits into your own life and you will be amazed at how much success will want to head your way!

Are you stuck in a dead-end job? Do you feel like your career potential is being wasted? A recruiter is a great relationship to have because they may have access to job opportunities that you can’t find on your own. Recruiters may even have leads that are half a world away, but just a phone call within reach. Here are 7 ways that you can enhance the time you spend working with a recruiter.

#1. Always be honest. Your recruiter should be treated as a trusted adviser. This means trying to enhance your credentials isn’t going to do either of you any good. Be honest about your skills and qualifications and let the recruiter do their job for you.

#2. Keep communication transparent. Recruiters need to move quickly sometimes to get someone placed into the perfect job. Timing really is everything, which means it becomes your job to keep communication open and transparent. Your recruiter may need to contact you at a moment’s notice. This will make that happen.

#3. Take time to build a relationship. Recruiters are going to want to meet you and verify several references so that they know how to best represent you. Making time to build a relationship with your recruiter will make their presentation about you more effective and give you a more completed working relationship.

#4. There’s nothing wrong in turning a position down. We all tend to avoid disappointing the people we care about. Because of this, the relationships that we build professionally sometimes make us all feel like we’re forced to do something we don’t want to do. Recruiters do work hard to create open positions, but it’s fine to turn down a position. It’s better that a job opportunity is a right fit instead of a forced fit.

#5. Patience is definitely a virtue. Whether you’re out of work or looking for a better job, not being somewhere you want to be can create a lot of stress, frustration, and uncertainty. Recruiters want to find a good fit with a good compensation profile so that a long-term position can be successfully filled. Being patient can be difficult sometimes, but is a necessary component of the process.

#6. Be ready to go when the time is right. Great positions can sometimes open and close in a matter of hours. If you aren’t prepared to take action on that opportunity immediately, then there is a good chance that the perfect job could slip away. With updated application materials in hand, just one potential interview could be what puts you over the top.

#7. Stay committed to the process. If you aren’t 100% committed to the change you want a recruiter to help you make, then not only can you damage your own reputation, but you can also damage the recruiter’s reputation as well. Relationships are extremely important in this industry. If you aren’t quite sure what to do, take some time to confirm that you want change to happen before you proceed.

Working with a recruiter can create long-term success for you and your career. It just means you’ll need to work as hard as your recruiter to make sure you can get the perfect position. In doing so, the dream job you’ve always wanted may be just one phone call away.

Does it seem like you’ve got a day that has just slipped away from you? Do you head home feeling like you didn’t accomplish everything you wanted to be able to accomplish? That happens to everyone, so the first step is to release any guilt you might be feeling. If this is becoming a chronic feeling, however, these 7 effective time management tips can help you take action to eliminate the problem.

#1. Find the things that waste your time. Every time you swap your focus from one task to another, you lose 15 minutes of time on average. That means things like updating your Facebook status or watching a cat jump over a unicorn while running on a rainbow will need to stop. List these out and then eliminate them.

#2. Get rid of the apps too. Social networking apps are bad, but modern game apps are worse. Their push notifications sound alarms or even vocally encourage you to play the game. Even the sound can rob you of your focus. Just eliminate the apps, mute your phone, or turn off the push notifications if you can.

#3. Have a daily goal. People are more productive when they have daily goals to meet. Everyone starts strong in the morning, but will hit a mid-day lull that can cause them to quit if they don’t have a goal to meet. With an achievable goal, you can power through the fatigue or boredom and set new records of productivity.

#4. Start with the important stuff. If you start with the hardest stuff to do first, as many people do, you don’t always leave time for the most important stuff. Do the important tasks first and then rank the importance of other items. If you rank things based on difficulty, you’ll just be disappointed.

#5. You’re probably not a supertasker. Multitasking is a popular interview question, but only 2% of the human race can actually do it effectively. Most people lose time through daydreaming, window staring, or laughing at a funny fast memory. Just don’t try it and you won’t lose time because of it.

#6. There is always wasted time somewhere. How long did you have to wait for your last doctor’s appointment? Or stand in line for a sandwich at lunch? Instead of reading the 6 month old magazines, take along items that can help you be productive. Many offices and restaurants have access to free WiFi, so you can take work along with you and not fall so far behind.

#7. Get legitimate feedback. Content like this can give you advice, and following it is a good first step, but receiving feedback is better. Listen to what people are telling you about your habits and take the good out of that advice as much as possible. Don’t take constructive criticism personally. This kind of feedback allows you to see yourself through the eyes of others. That’s why it is such an effective mechanism for change.

You don’t have to feel guilty about a wasted day any more. Use these 7 effective and proven tips today to better manage your time and tomorrow just might end up being a perfect day.